Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Girard-Perregaux · Casquette
Girard-Perregaux Casquette 43 mm Meteorite 18k
Reference 68173OR.90
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Girard-Perregaux
- Collection
- Casquette
- Model
- Girard-Perregaux Casquette 43 mm Meteorite 18k
- Reference number
- 68173OR.90
- Year / era
- 1953 · 1950s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Annual calendar
- Movement
- In-house manual-winding
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Dial type
- Meteorite
- Strap / bracelet
- Milanese mesh
- Water resistance
- 50 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 250 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 43 mm
- Case thickness
- 14.1 mm
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Bezel
- Emerald-set
- Crystal
- Anti-reflective sapphire, double-domed
- Dial
- Meteorite
- Hands
- Rhodium-plated baton hands with luminous fill
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- Milanese mesh
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 50 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 61C — In-house manual-winding
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 65 hours
- Number of jewels
- 25 jewels
- Complications
- Annual calendar
- Functions
- Hours, minutes, small seconds
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1953 – 1968
- Limited-edition quantity
- 250 pieces
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Jörg Hysek
Jörg Hysek left Rolex and Seiko's European studios to build a design practice in Geneva, giving houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Seiko and TAG Heuer their sculptural, architecture-led cases before founding his own brand, HD3.
Historical significance
Girard-Perregaux Casquette 43 mm Meteorite 18k sits within Girard-Perregaux's Casquette line, introduced in 1953. It carries the house codes established since 1791 — 18k rose gold case, meteorite dial and in-house manual-winding — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
The House
Girard-Perregaux
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1791
- Founder
- Jean-François Bautte
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Luxury
- Major collections
- Laureato, Three Bridges, Free Bridge, Vintage 1945, Casquette
- Signature technologies
- In-house hairspring production · Anti-magnetic silicon escapement · Certified chronometer regulation
- Famous movements
- In-house manual-winding · In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer · In-house automatic, chronometer certified · In-house automatic chronograph
- Notable watches
- Girard-Perregaux Laureato 39 mm Green Carbon (1964) · Girard-Perregaux Laureato 39 mm Green Stainless (1985) · Girard-Perregaux Laureato 43 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k (1956) · Girard-Perregaux Laureato 37 mm Meteorite Quartz (1987)
Brand history
Girard-Perregaux has spent more than 235 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Laureato, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Jean-François Bautte established Girard-Perregaux in 1791, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Girard-Perregaux calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1791
Jean-François Bautte founds Girard-Perregaux in Switzerland.
1831
Girard-Perregaux earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Girard-Perregaux to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Girard-Perregaux enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Girard-Perregaux continues to produce Laureato, Three Bridges, Free Bridge and other icons in limited numbers.
More Casquette
Girard-Perregaux Casquette 43 mm Salmon Platinum
Ref. 34189OR.81
Girard-Perregaux Casquette 41 mm Slate Quartz
Ref. 25506OR.79
Girard-Perregaux Casquette 40 mm Skeletonised Quartz
Ref. 34937OR.83
Girard-Perregaux Casquette 44 mm Salmon 18k
Ref. 86022OR.81
Girard-Perregaux Casquette 36 mm Slate Sapphire
Ref. 53278OR.59